Collective
Geology of the Erased Space is a 2004 commission
of New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc., (a.k.a. Ether-Ore)
for its Turbulence.org web
site. It was made possible with funding from a generous
grant by the National Endowment for the Arts.

About this work

Viewers are presented with an imaginary
geological strata imbued with many sounds: fragments of conversations,
recollections, errant noises and pregnant silences presented as if the
memory of communication had been imparted on the strata in some way. Stretched
thin like the surface of a balloon underneath
the razor sharp cursor, the sounds whistle like a fingernail across
the surface of a drum-head.

Over a period of several years, I began collecting the sounds that
you will find imbued within this work. Aside from the background score,
all of the sounds that you hear in this piece were found on analog
cassette tapes in assorted thrift stores, resale shops and junkyards. Recordings of eulogies, hospital to ambulance relay

tapes, phone conversations, retirement
parties as well as recordings made by individuals left stranded in nursing
homes are among the many disparate sources.

As users “scrub” their mouse across the surface of the strata,
sounds are revealed. That is, the speed and direction at which the user
moves the mouse affect how the sound will play: fast, slow, normal, forward,
backwards, etc. Because it requires a constant steady hand, the work choreographs
the user into repeatedly scrubbing the strata in order to catch
fleeting moments of sound. Only by repeated scrubbing does one slowly build
an impression of the original communication as if reconstructing
messages from the sonic rubble.

Required: You need the Shockwave
Plugin to view this project. If you don't have it,
it can be downloaded
here.

General Note: It
is recommended that you use a trackpad, rather than a mouse
to interact with this piece if one is available. I mention
this because using a trackpad enhances the intimacy and pacing
in a way which more accurately communicates my intentions for
your experience with this piece.